Fix You

Filtering Sunlight

"Dance with me?"

"Here? Without music?"

"We don't need music to dance."

_________

Her eyes were a muted brown, dulled to look more black, and blended with the suffocating darkness of the room. Jennie kept her gaze on her, unmoving, trying to read behind what she knows to be a false sense of calm in Lisa's eyes. Something stirred, when she asked her to sing another song. Jennie knows, despite not being good with reading emotions. She doesn't even know why and how that was possible to begin with, but she knows. Something was there and she wanted to know what.

"Are you okay?" Her question was nothing more but a release of breath, that got lost in the space between them.

"Hmmm?" Lisa pulled back a bit to focus her gaze on the brown guitar that Jennie held in her hand.

"Are you okay?" She asked again, this time a little louder.

She reached out and held the ends of Lisa's shirt, pinching the fabric in between her thumb and index finger rather hard the tips were beginning to turn red. The silence was becoming uncomfortable the longer the seconds went by, and she hated it. She pulled on the shirt, silently wanting Lisa to come closer and take back the distance they created.

"I'm fine..."

She could hear the white lie.

"No, you're not."

"Really Jennie, it's nothing. Where's the other song?" Lisa held Jennie's hand, encasing it with a warmth that made the believing easier. For a brief second Jennie did, believe... if not for the worn out way she said the words that fell heavily one after another.

She knew it was not "nothing", she was certain that there was something there. Beneath the easy smile that made Jennie smile back. She didn't push, not really wanting Lisa to feel uncomfortable.

"Any requests?" She grinned. That should make things light, right?

"Anything... you have a beautiful voice."

There it was again, nothing too noticeable. It was more like a slight nuance in her tone, a muted sadness that mirrored her eyes.

"I thought that was established when we sang at that diner?" chuckling to help her calm down, calm enough to focus on Lisa and not on her thoughts.

"It was, but I don't remember praising you as much about it then? Or did I?" Lisa smiled, closing the distance, still holding on to Jennie's hand. She pulled her, guiding her towards the end of the room where it was darker.

"Shouldn't we turn on the lights?"

The question was left unanswered, as Lisa sat on the floor and pulled on Jennie's hand, motioning her to do the same.

Jennie did, crossing her legs and cradling the guitar. She settled, leaning against the equally cold wall and running her fingers against the metal strings that vibrated and made off-key tunes that filled every bit of space in between the silence around them.

Lisa scooted closer, she can tell from the warmth, and the way her clothes made that scuffling sound against the polished wood floor. Lisa's warmth was inviting, driving away the cold that came with the darkness.

Jennie wasn't looking at Lisa though, but instead focused on a spot right across them where the walls looked more bleak, her brows furrowed over the weird sensations she felt on her thumb from the top, thicker strings which felt rougher.